Diversity In South City Analysis

Throughout the reading this week, the information presented in David Elliott and Bennett Reimer’s texts stressed the importance of music and more specifically, music education. “People everywhere find music rewarding, and everywhere we find people engaged in formal and non-formal efforts to teach and learn music.” (Elliott, 2014, p. 4)

When Mr. Clark originally taught at Eastside High School, the culture seemed very competitive and full of high standards. The students seemed very eager to learn and at a pretty high level for their age. Twenty years later, the culture flips dramatically. The school quickly goes from pristine to a graffiti-infested playground. The teachers are the prey and the students (mainly the ‘hoodlums’) pretty much do as they please. Education is a small goal for any of the students, and the students that do want to do well fear those “hoodlums.” Mr. Clark identifies this immediately when returning to Eastside High. During his first assembly, Mr. Clark let the entire school know that he was the HNIC. He gathered up all the trouble makers and sent them home, expelling them from school. Most were drug dealers, 5th year students, or drug abusers that were dulling the spark of the other students.

Tanner started his freshman year playing in the second best orchestra of three in his school. Here, he excelled musically and made new friends with upperclassmen. By January, one of Tanner’s older friends had convinced him to join choir, so he decided to audition for the upcoming year. As a sophomore, Tanner sang bass in the top choir, even though he did not have any prior singing experience. The same year, he also auditioned into Symphonic Orchestra, the top orchestra of his school. While he was in both the top orchestra and choir, he started student conducting for the lower orchestras and choirs. By senior year, Tanner’s schedule was almost completely filled with music classes. Consequently, Tanner grew extremely close to his high school ensemble directors. It got the point where he could casually call his Symphonic Orchestra director “mom.” This inspired Tanner to make it a goal for himself to form strong relationships with his future students. Through his experiences conducting his high school orchestras, and choir, Tanner found that he really enjoyed teaching music and decided to study music

* “when you speak with great educators, and look behind the test scores, the lessons learned in studying music, learning to play an instrument, playing in a band, learning to read music, all provide a richness to a child's education that will last a lifetime,” (par 1).

The United States Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, and local departments provide financial support for the GREAT program, which enables this intervention to function at its full capacity. A supporter agent for this particular program is the school’s administrators because this intervention can possibly lower discipline issues within school grounds and create a safer atmosphere for students to learn. A third benefactor and strong supporter of the GREAT intervention are the participant’s parents or guardian. The parents are extremely likely to support this intervention because it can potentially help their child if they are at risk of joining a criminal gang, which can negatively impact their child’s life and future. Also, the GREAT intervention teaches its participants other important life skills that parents may want their child to

During module #3 I was very shocked at some of the findings I discovered. I never realized how much the role of race in urban America and the way it has affected and shaped the spatial organization of cities. Being asked this question prior to this module I would of had no idea what was going on. I never thought about poverty, race, where people live and why they live there, or even crime in areas like I do now. It shocks me to see how much cities and people living in the cities are struggling from poverty and how race is a major factor in all of this. Thinking back on Davenport, and what has been going on in my home town has really helped me connect all the things we have learned in class to my life. Poverty, crime, race, and where

Gangs are nothing new to American society, what is new and disturbing is the recent spike in juvenile crimes with reported ties to certain gangs. Youth gangs have been prevalent in schools in large cities since the 1970 's. However, they have become even more prevalent in schools in the recent past. In the student survey component of the 1995 National Crime Victimization Survey, more than one third (37%) of the students reported gangs at their schools and the percentage of students reporting the presence of gangs at their schools nearly doubled between 1989 and 1995, and then decreased in 1999, according to a more conservative measure.

Through weekly private lessons, chamber, wind, and orchestra ensemble playing, and assiduous independent practice, I have improved immensely as a trombonist and musician. My work paid off when I was accepted into Boston University’s Tanglewood Institute. At this nationally competitive program, I spent six weeks with talented, dedicated students while rubbing shoulders with the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO). I had never heard elite musicians live before the BSO. Their concerts brought tears to my eyes and my drive to make music at the highest level grew. After receiving instruction from these musicians and hearing their own performances, I refined my technique and made more tasteful musical decisions.

I can say I’m a multi-instrumentalist. I can play the harmonica, the trombone, the ukulele, the bass, the piano, the electric and acoustic guitar, and I’m probably forgetting one. But really I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for her” (Montes). “One of the big things I teach my kids is how through hard work, you can accomplish anything. Whenever a kid shows up to a lesson, I always ask them if they practiced, and sometimes they say no because they don’t have a piano at home. It reminds me of the days when I couldn’t even afford a piano, but I push those thoughts away and work towards helping these kids fulfill their dreams as I’ve fulfilled mine. Music teaches the kids how to work through a tough song, and through time and practice, they always get it at the end” (LaBeau). Ronnie’s School of Music has performed annually for several of the city’s prominent events: the Arroyo Lighting at Christmas, Saint Anthony’s Fall Festival, Winter Texan festivals, and many more. LaBeau teaches students of all ages, from three to ninety seven. The majority of her students, however, come from Saint Anthony Catholic

Across the United States many elementary school music classrooms are filled with simple and popular tunes such as Hot Cross Buns and The Ode to Joy, played on the recorder, while high school students may be playing collegiate or professional pieces of music such as Armenian Dances and Carmen Suites. I have been very fortunate to have gone on the journey of progressing through different music education programs within Fairfax County Public Schools. If I was never exposed to music while in elementary school I might not have ever found one of my greatest passions or been able to create such fond and unforgettable memories. While music education programs across the country appear large and strong, many schools are beginning to experience budget reductions. As a result, music is often the very first component of a school 's curriculum or programs to be cut or significantly reduced, but I believe this is not the right course of action. It is important to preserve and promote music education in public schools because of the proven cognitive, character,and academic benefits for students.

Much too often in America today, modern music and art programs in schools are perceived to many as extracurricular activities rather than important subjects that are vital to a students learning and skill development. The truth of the matter is that encouraging music and art education in public schools has a much larger impact on student’s grades, academic performance, and the economy than the majority people realize. Within the next year city school budgets will be dropping by twenty five percent, and despite the fact that music and art programs have been showing a dramatic contribution to student’s learning, this substantial drop in funding for the programs will lead to no dedicated money for art or music programs (Mezzacappa). There is

Why is the school that I graduated from last year becoming worse each year? Where did this all start from? What are our teachers doing to stop or help these kids from acting the way they do? Are the upperclassmen preventing or encouraging the actions these kids make? Out of all the schools in the district, why did it have to be EHS? Is there any way to fix it? Answering these questions and focusing on the matter might help improve it. EHS has successfully graduated thousands of graduates. In recent years, however, a number of troubling trends, which I will explain, have been demonstrated. These include fighting for fun, joining a gang, weed, and uncaring teachers.

First and foremost, the safety of children is the first agenda people must confront on the list, considering crime and learning environment. According to the case study in Psychology Today, the crime rate dropped by 91 percent. Everyone desires his or her child to be safe while in a learning environment. Yes, I understand that many people don’t believe crime impacts Carson High, and yes to the bare eye there is a facade that crime and gangs do not exist. Although the drug scene is quite rampant, to see this you must step in the shoes of a student. Just like the circle of hooligans that gathers around Mills Park, we look upon from the outside and pretend to glance away. Faculty and staff may uphold the students to sense of trust, but if high

Standing amongst musically-adept buildings that easily dwarf it and construction that does not help its aged appearance, the Schmidt Vocal Arts Center (SVAC) operates as a rehearsal, office, and studio spot for all vocal students—major and minor alike. Much like many music facilities, its fate lies in the hands of financial executives who make decisions which generally result in the defunding of programs that the SVAC houses. As a result, the SVAC has tremendous pressure to provide a quality education with depleting funds. The SVAC combats this by utilizing an artistic internal atmosphere in the attempt of inspiring music students to remain within the music department and to establish the creative arts as a necessity within both university and personal life.

Through three decades, Mr. Holland is closer to students at John F. Kennedy High School than he is to his own son. He addresses a series of challenges created by people who are either skeptical of -- or hostile towards -- the idea of musical excellence within the walls of a typical middle-class American high school. He inspires many students and but never has private time for himself or his family, forever delaying the composition of his own orchestral composition. Ultimately, he reaches an age when it is too late to realistically find financial backing or ever have it performed.